The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) unveiled plans to extend the Metro tracks to 110km by 2020 and to 421km by 2030. The RTA also recently announced a Route 2020 project to extend the Red Line of Dubai Metro by 15km to reach the Expo site.

"The RTA is moving ahead with its strategic plan for uplifting public transport systems with the aim of raising the share of public transport trips to 20 per cent by 2020, and pushing it further to 30 per cent by 2030,” Mattar Al Tayer, Executive Director of the RTA and Chairman of the Board of Directors, said.

"In accordance with the Master Plan of the Rail Network in Dubai, the total length of railways will extend to 110km by 2020, 200km by 2025 and double to 421km by 2030,” he said. "RTA is also improving and expanding the public transport routes to serve new communities.”

According to the Plan, the number of buses is expected to grow to 2,000 by 2020, lifting about two million riders per day. "The Plan also envisages leveraging the marine transport services, including the extension of the total length of marine lines to 450km,” Al Tayer added.

The RTA recently participated in the 61st UITP World Congress and Exhibition held in Milan, Italy. The UITP World Congress and Exhibition is an important global platform for public transport specialists to showcase the latest technologies in the field.

At the exhibition, Al Tayer stated that the growing international attention to smooth transport contributes to people's happiness. "Achieving this goal requires linking technological systems with the existing and proposed infrastructure, and linking the technology with the public transport systems to ease the use of transport systems. It also requires integrating multi-modal transit systems, and framing policies and legislation to keep pace with the development of transport systems such as legislation regarding car-pooling [shared cars] and the use of driverless vehicles.”